Discussion of all social, political and cultural aspects of the American Civil War battles fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania.
Antebellum to modern day perspective of the material culture effects of these engagements, both military and civilian. From time to time your blog host will examine other Civil War sites such as Manassas, Gettysburg, and Petersburg.
All original material copyright 2015 by John F. Cummings III

Monday, February 6, 2012

Best Evidence? What do the Gettysburg Harvest of Death Images Show?

In the next few weeks I imagine, historians Garry Adelman and ﻿Tim Smith will be posting entries on the Gettysburg Daily blog, to examine and challenge numerous researcher's claims of finding the "Harvest of Death" photograph grouping, including my own, and that of National Park Service historian, Scott Hartwig. Garry has let it be known that he and Tim spent the past weekend at Gettysburg filming video segments for this presentation.

Since posting my own examinations, I have found that Scott Hartwig had not only presented his research on the Gettysburg Park's blog in May 2011, but also as an article in the October 2011 issue of Civil War Times Magazine. In the December 2011 issue of Civil War Times, Garry Adelman took Scott to task in a letter to the editor, and asserted that Mr. Hartwig's conclusion was "impossible". Interestingly, within Garry's dissection of Scott's presentation, he lays claim that the Thompson house "does not show up in wider versions of Alexander Gardner's view", something that my own, independent research, shows to be false. The Thompson house, "Lee's Headquarters", does very much appear, right where it should be, atop the ridge, at the upper right hand corner of the image. Faint, not in sharp focus, and apparently fog enshrouded, but nonetheless, there. Likewise, the companion Gardner image, looking to the southwest, is equally plagued by a lack of depth of field. Background elements of this image are blurred and essentially washed out in appearance. Regardless, this image as well, does contain some potential clues as to its location on the field.

Please click on any of the images on this blog for larger examination.

Note, along the horizon, the distant wood lines, as well as the barely

discernible, scattered trees in the field. Theoretically, the Hagerstown

Road should be running left to right along that southern end of the field.

The map below shows these elements as they appeared in 1868.

Here, once again, as demonstrated in my prior posts, are horizon

elements that provide a surprisingly similar appearance to the Thompson

house, which has been a point of debate when discussing mine, and Scott

Hartwig's examinations of these images. The Brady photograph below,

from July 1863, taken within weeks of the Gardner/O'Sullivan images,

shows a strikingly similar appearance to the distant objects captured above.

Hard to consider them coincidence, especially when added to all the other

items of consideration. Garry Adelman considers these similarities of terrain

as, something he has found to be "fairly common" at Gettysburg. I challenge

that assertion. Yes, there are ridge lines, woodlines, and fences, but not

so coincidentally where they should be in both directions. Remove one

of these elements and there is room to talk. Additional field work is still

needed however. That will happen when the weather cooperates.

Brady's close-up photograph of the Thompson house. How odd

that everything appears to match if it is not the same structure.

One challenge to my theory is that the house appears to be white

instead of a darker stone evident in Brady's shot. It appears lighter,

I maintain, due to whatever atmospheric conditions, such as fog,

appear to make everything in the distance appear lighter and washed out.

There is a distinct lack of depth of field also at work. Further reading

Clark,Apparently Scott Hartwig's material initially set off the debunkings, last May. Garry responded to that in the December issue of Civil War Times magazine. On January 12, when I began posting my material that pointed out what I believe is the Thompson house, and the vital clue that would resolve the mystery, Garry was quick to caution me that more needed to be considered before calling the issue "solved." Since then I have been trying to pull all my ducks in a row and feel more comfortable with my conclusions, but will need more field work to smooth rough edges out. At this point we should just sit back and wait for their material. We shall see.John Cummings

Let me state up front that I am not trained as a forensic pathologist, but the images I provide here were produced using rudimentary inf...

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Why I am here:

I am the owner of Spotsylvania Commemorative. I conduct historical research and provide battlefield guide services. Living on the Spotsylvania battlefield has its advantages. The most important to me is that I am right on the ground that played an important but usually disregarded role in the campaign. The actions of May 14, 1864 resulted in the near capture of General George Gordon Meade while it also helped to anchor a new Federal left wing. Known as the battle of Myer's Hill, it focused on what was until recently a wooded summit, one half mile southeast from my driveway. There remains close to 75 acres of land which includes the Myer house site. In 1864 it was a 400 acre farm. I have been trying for more than ten years to influence the preservation of this property. A few years ago some of the cultural resources on the site were damaged during deforesting, including what was a beautifully preserved trenchline built by the Federal 6th Corps. Seeing an imminent threat to the house site, I personally negotiated with the logging company and minimized the damage, while the surrounding acres were clear cut. I have come to know the story of John Henry Myer and his family and the struggle for the farm site they called home. Myer, conscripted into the 40th VA Infantry, watched helpless from the Confederate trenches on May 15, 1864 as his home was destroyed by the Union occupants. It had been intended as a sanctuary from the ravages of war. Their story, and those of countless others, is my inspiration.